Thousands of hospitalized children require constant intravenous (IV) fluid treatments. However, IV delivery tends to limit pediatric patients’ mobility. Current standards of care require an IV pole which can be cumbersome; it limits pediatric patient mobility and poses dangers of tripping and infection to the patient. These issues can take away from patients’ quality of life. There are currently no wearable inpatient fluid infusion systems specifically designed for pediatric patients. We have developed a portable and wearable system to administer IV fluids to pediatric patients while facilitating easier mobility both in hospital and home settings, without the use of a cumbersome IV pole. Key features of our product include safety guardrails for infusion rates, comfort and weight distribution for the patients, flow rate sensors, long battery life, and compatibility with currently used pump systems in the hospital. After interviewing pediatric nurses and the parents of pediatric patients, we formed our design criteria and manufactured our final prototype by sewing the backpack with a wipeable, medical grade fabric and constructing the housing for our IV bag, tubing, and pump components. Verification and validation tests were conducted to ensure hardware and software components met the predetermined design criteria. Our final product is unique as it seamlessly works in both inpatient and outpatient settings, such that nurses can easily operate it and program the necessary medications and fluids for their pediatric patients in the hospital and parents can be trained to operate it at home.

Facet joint arthrosis causes pain in approximately 7 % of the U.S. population, but current treatments are palliative. The objective of this study was to elucidate structure-function relationships and aid in the development of future treatments for the facet joint. This study characterized the articular surfaces of cervical, thoracic, and lumbar facet cartilage from skeletally mature (18-24 mo) Yucatan minipigs. The minipig was selected as the animal model because it is recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) as a translationally relevant model for spine-related indications. It was found that the thoracic facets had a ∼2 times higher aspect ratio than lumbar and cervical facets. Lumbar facets had 6.9-9.6 times higher % depth than the cervical and thoracic facets. Aggregate modulus values ranged from 135 to 262 kPa, much lower than reported aggregate modulus in the human knee (reported to be 530-701 kPa). The tensile Young's modulus values ranged from 6.7 to 20.3 MPa, with the lumbar superior facet being 304 % and 286 % higher than the cervical inferior and thoracic superior facets, respectively. Moreover, 3D reconstructions of entire vertebral segments were generated. The results of this study imply that structure-function relationships in the facet cartilage are different from other joint cartilages because biochemical properties are analogous to other articular cartilage sources whereas mechanical properties are not. By providing functional properties and a 3D database of minipig facet geometries, this work may supply design criteria for future facet tissue engineering efforts.